Review: East of West #39

One of the most challenging things to ask audiences, especially today“s audiences is to have patience. In a world of instant gratification, the idea of having a story that literally takes years to develop will cause many to get distracted and look elsewhere. There are a few creators and comics that push against that trend, like Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta“s East of West series. This week marks its long-awaited return with issue number thirty-nine.

Now with only eight issues left all the pieces are coming together. There is not a better comic book writer today at crafting massive epics full of intricate storylines and extensive casts of characters than Jonathan Hickman. With his skill and the sheer rarity of this type of story, there is something uniquely satisfying about watching everything finally come together. In this issue, the army of the Prophet and the House of Mao are nearing their collision course as Death and his son look to join the fray as well, however before they can even more obstacles get in their way.

Even with the end in sight, the pace remains true to what has made the book such a success so far. There are certainly some great actions moments within this issue but the pieces on the board are just as gradually coming together, and just when you think a major reunion is about to take place a diversion occurs that sets up the next issue extremely well. The stakes of this series have been built so brilliantly to keep in line with the personal and epic nature of the narrative. Yes, the entire world can and probably will end yet you still care about how exactly where get there. Â Although though this world is full of chaos and horrid people you come to care for the fate for anyone who shows an ounce of heroism.

Nick Dragotta“s art has got stronger and stronger throughout this book“s run. His panels have opened up making for a quicker read and some jaw-dropping visuals. There have been long-running motifs that have differentiated each section of the East of West world and witnessing them merge makes it evident how insanely creative his designs have been since the start. Frank Martin“s colors also should be recognized. As the issue opens we get a flashback to clue us into how we got to this point. He puts a slight haze in his pallet to help distinguish it from the present day. Having some many moving pieces a slight adjustment like that is extremely helpful to get your bearings of when and where you are reading.

Final Thoughts:

Even with only eight issues left in this series, there is still a lot left to accomplish. Considering the extended delays and depth of this series there is always a difficulty trying to jump back into this universe, and to this book“s credit, it trusts the audience to keep things straight avoiding hamfisted exposition to catch everyone up. Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta are looking at the grander picture, which is evident in this issue as it does not set off to inject massive moments because it is the first issue back in some time. There is no question it is a solid issue, but it is clearly leading to something much grander. East of West has been one of comics best books for some time and issue #39 only helps that fact.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist:Â Nick Dragotta
Colorist: Frank Martin
Letterer: Rus Wooton

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Daniel Clark

A fan of all things comics. Growing up on a healthy diet of 90's Batman and X-Men cartoon series ignited a love for the medium that remains strong today.